Specialties & Conditions Psychiatry & Behavioral Health
The Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie Children’s is staffed and equipped to manage the complex care of children with concurrent medical and psychiatric treatment needs. Our specialists help many young patients overcome depression, anxiety and other psychological or behavioral concerns related to their serious medical illness, as well as those children with primary mental health issues.
We believe in family-centered care. Research shows that family involvement is key to a child’s healing process. Through our family therapy sessions and parent education, you will gain support and training to more effectively care for and interact with your child. We also offer several outpatient treatment groups for children and families, as well as a program that helps older teens transition from pediatric to adult care.
Each of our mental health professionals brings dedication and specialized expertise to the individualized care that every patient receives. For hospitalized patients and those in the day program (Partial Hospitalization Program), our team members meet frequently to discuss each child’s progress and refine treatment goals and after-care planning. When appropriate, the department offers diagnostic tests such as developmental, psychological and neuropsychological.
In addition to patient care and research, we also train healthcare professionals to become mental health specialists. We are committed to helping decrease the national shortage of child and adolescent mental health providers.
The Center for Childhood Resilience works with Chicago Public Schools. Our expert staff teach a curriculum on social and emotional coping skills and help schools integrate behavioral health services into their efforts to help students, as well as training school professionals in how to address trauma in youth.
Our physicians make every attempt to stay at the forefront of treatment advances, making sure they provide our patients with the best care possible. We take specialized and evidence-based approaches to providing psychiatric and psychological services for a wide-range of conditions.
For almost 60 years, the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie Children’s has provided psychiatric and psychological services to families and their children of all ages, from every social and economic background. Our services are in great demand.
Browse a list of our servicesOur clinicians will examine your child’s current challenges, strengths and functioning level, as well as their developmental, educational, family, medical and psychiatric history. Learn about the types of evaluations we provide below.
If you’d like to request an appointment with one of our specialists, call 1.800.543.7362 (1.800.KIDS DOC®) or visit our Appointments page for more information.
Our multidisciplinary team includes:
The head of the department, John Walkup, MD, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Your support is vital in helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families. Lurie Children’s relies on philanthropic funding to enhance its programs, services and research for children. To learn more, please e-mail the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation at foundation@luriechildrens.org or call 312.227.7500.
